Hillsboro-Roubaix - just a little unlucky
If I had any doubts that it takes a little luck to win a bicycling road race before today, I have none now.
I really felt like I had good legs; and I just plain felt good on my bike today. For the first 6 miles of the 2008 Hillsboro-Roubaix I really felt like I was doing a decent job of managing my position in the bunch. Too bad all that good was more than balanced by the little bit of bad luck at mile 6.
We started out fast, really hammering. The 5's race was only 22 miles long so it wasn't a huge surprise to see a hammer fest develop. I was a little surprised that it was pretty much the work of one team that made it happen.
Right from the end of the neutral zone they sent a couple of guys off the front, leaving another 4 or 5 behind to sit in while everyone else chased. These two didn't last long. At the first decent hump they were pretty much spent. We flew by them and kept going. Whoever was on the front really had the bit between his teeth. I was enjoying the ride, tucked in about 6 riders back. Soon after that I had my bit of bad luck.
We'd just turned a corner onto a really narrow bit of uphill road. This road might have been 2 cars wide, but not if they were large cars. About half way up the hill someone screams "car up!" Suddenly anyone more than a foot from the right edge of the road jerked his bars to the right. I was one of the poor guys only a foot from the right edge of the road. I watched as the guy immediately in front of me plowed into the soft gravel shoulder, nearly going down. Next thing I know, it's me doing the plowing in the same soft stuff.
No, I'm happy to say I didn't go down either. In the process of staying upright, however, I did manage to drop my chain. It came off on the outside; and it wedged itself between the big ring and the derailleur cage. By the time I got it fixed and found a gear I could turn over to get started again - Remember, it was an uphill section of road - the wheel truck had gone by.
I went into timetrial mode, hoping to catch on. If I could only get to the guy on the back... For the rest of the race the bunch was a couple of hundred yards up the road, just far enough to keep me trying, but too far just the same.
I bet I got a better workout in than they did today.
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Great Threshold work...
What was the IF for the rest of the race?
A study in contrast
The difference between riding in the race versus time trialing behind the race hoping to catch back on is substantial.
I don't really know if I could do that on my own out on the open road without something (catchable or not) to chase.
Good Job
Keeping the Peloton in site for that long is quite excellent and shows your fitness is no joke. I expect you to get a podium or two before you cat up!
Need more races
Thanks Bobber. It would be nice to land a top spot in one of these races, but I'm not banking on it. One thing I've learned about road racing is it takes fitness, skill and luck to win; and not necessarily in that order.
I'm picking up on the skill part. The fitness piece is there. Sooner or later I'm bound to have some good luck, right?
Congrats/Sorry
Congratulations on the great workout and perseverance on a strong effort!
Sorry to hear that the race results do not necessarily indicate who had the greatest fitness, or desire to do well.
That is racing! I know that you know it, but it warrants statement. Some guys do not realize this simple fact and race as if their life depends on the published results. It is good to know the difference between a great race and a great result. You make a brother proud!
Funny moment
I don't know whether this is funny or not. If you see the world the way I do it is, sort of. Anyway, more and more of that critical moment keeps coming back to me. One of these times I'll even remember how I managed to get that chain back on.
What I do remember right now is looking down and seeing my chain dropped and tangled on the outside of my big ring. I have no recollection of how I managed to not crash in all that soft gravel. The ruts my tires left were at least 2" deep. I remember putting feet down and saying something like "Why me?" I said it out loud. Then I remember someone going by and declaring "Dropped chain."
Man, if he hadn't told me that I might still be on that soft shoulder trying to figure out why my bike wouldn't go.
Yeah, I love those
I always loved those shards of brilliance passing people bestow on you.
That is right up there with the question no one can ever seem to resist asking when you are standing next to your car with a coat hanger straightened, re-bent and shoved through your door jam.
Passing from the left
Unlucky.
Glad to hear you didn't go down. Being just short of catching a Peleton can be frustrating and hard work ... but it sounds like you're feeling strong.
Wow, racing with cars on the road .... I'd never get near the left at turns ...
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